Dave Chapel, Rancho Santiago Community College District Trustee, Demands Trustee Area Boundaries be Gerrymandered to Suit Him

This afternoon, the Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD) Board of Trustees is scheduled to vote on a proposal that would change how they get elected to the board. As it stands, RSCCD currently has six trustees elected at-large; a new plan proposes to divide the district into seven trustee areas, spread across Santa Ana, Orange, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Tustin, and other cities to ensure proper representation of the district.

Nice enough thought, right? But one trustee doesn't like it, mainly because that'd mean he and his neighbor would have to fight for the same proposed seat. And the whiny trustee in question, R. David Chapel, is desperately trying to get support to save his ass from representative democracy--even if it means gerrymandering of comical proportionsYesterday, Chapel (who, alas, is NOT related to the comedian with roughly the same name) sent out an email to friends, a copy of which was obtained by the Weekly, in which he disclosed the coming vote. "One of the plans calls for Trustee Dave Chapel to be placed into the same competing area as Trustee Mark McLoughlin," Chapel wrote, obviously comfortable in referring to himself in the third person. "Community leaders in Santa Ana and Orange, the faculty and students believe that this is a terrible plan."

Really? The only person who seems upset is Chapel. But he continues.

"Please email the Board or call and leave a message that demands that the Board select the plan that places Dave and Mark into separate trustee areas," he wrote. "Thank you for voicing your opinion.

What Chapel doesn't mention is that he and McLoughlin both live in SanTana's ritzy Floral Park, as does another trustee. In fact, property records reviewed by the Weekly show that Chapel and McLoughlin live less than a half-mile away from each other; in essence, Chapel wants a gerrymandering of preposterous proportions.

Surely, you can't have those poor Mexis in the rest of the RSCCD have any political power! Let's see what happens this afternoon...see you there!